Renée Gertrude Taylor, who has taken as her pen-name simply her
first name, as it was the name her mother gave her, is a feminist
playwright and fiction writer, and a feisty advocate for the rights
of women, lesbians and gays, as well as working class people – in
her own words, a “lesbian feminist with socialist working-class
ideals”. Throughout her plays and novels women take centre stage,
and their primary bonds are with other women.

Born in Napier in 1929 as Renée Gertrude Jones, she is of Ngati
Kahungungu, Ngati Porou and Irish-English-Scots ancestry, with her
mother half-Maori and her father “Pakeha” (European New Zealander).
Because her mother had married a non-Maori, her family …

Please log in to consult the article in its entirety. If you are not a subscriber, please click here to read about membership. All our articles have been written recently by experts in their field, more than 95% of them university professors.

Citation:
Ross, John C.. "Renée".
The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 29 January 2015
[http://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=3747, accessed 03 March 2015.]

3747Renée1Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

The Literary Encyclopedia is supplied without charge to higher education institutions in countries where per capita income is below the world average. If you are in a relatively wealthy country, reading The Literary Encyclopedia and recommending it to others helps us to afford these free supplies.